Written Answers Friday 19 March 2010

Scottish Executive

Communities

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31213 by Alex Neil on 26 February 2010, whether it will confirm that the £128,000 paid back by the Scottish-Islamic Foundation will not be reallocated before the end of financial year 2009-10.

Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-31213 on 26 February 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Scottish Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Culture

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it first contacted City of Edinburgh Council regarding the financial difficulties experienced by The Gathering 2009 Ltd.

Jim Mather: The First Minister and officials met representatives of the City of Edinburgh Council, VisitScotland and a third party organisation on 12 October 2009 to discuss the possibility of that third party organisation buying The Gathering 2009 Ltd in order to secure the future of the Gathering as an event. That third party organisation subsequently confirmed that it was not interested in purchasing The Gathering 2009 Ltd. On 13 October 2009, the City of Edinburgh Council informed the Scottish Government that at that stage the council or Destination Edinburgh Marketing Alliance were interested in purchasing the company.

Culture

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings it has had with City of Edinburgh Council to discuss the options available to secure the future of The Gathering 2009 Ltd.

Jim Mather: The First Minister and officials met representatives of the City of Edinburgh Council, VisitScotland and a third party organisation on 12 October 2009 to discuss the possibility of that third party organisation buying The Gathering 2009 Ltd in order to secure the future of the Gathering as an event. During the course of that week the City of Edinburgh Council confirmed to the Scottish Government that Destination Edinburgh Marketing Alliance was considering buying The Gathering 2009 Ltd. Officials from the Scottish Government and the City of Edinburgh Council met again on 4 November 2009 to discuss this issue.

Culture

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it had with City of Edinburgh Council regarding the news release issued on 5 October 2009 by the council on behalf of Destination Edinburgh Marketing Alliance (DEMA) Ltd.

Jim Mather: Once the Scottish Government was made aware of Destination Edinburgh Marketing Alliance’s intention to buy The Gathering 2009 Ltd, officials had a number of discussions with officials from the City of Edinburgh Council about the council’s plans. As usual, this included discussions on the presentational aspects of the decision. Scottish Government ministers and officials were provided with an advance copy of the press release to enable the then Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution to provide a quote for inclusion in the release.

Education

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning last met the National Qualifications Steering Group (NQSG).

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning last received advice from the National Qualifications Steering Group regarding the implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence and the relevant timeframe.

Michael Russell: NQSG’s role in providing the Scottish Government with advice on the development of National Qualifications has been subsumed within (a) the expanded role, remit and membership of the Curriculum for Excellence Management Board and its sub-group: the Qualifications Governing Group and (b) the governance processes established by the Scottish Qualifications Authority for the development of the new qualifications. A separate Stakeholder Group also provides advice to the Scottish Government on issues related to Curriculum for Excellence. These groups are covering the interests of NQSG members. Consequently, the group has not met since 18 February 2009 and the current Cabinet Secretary has not therefore met with it.

Enterprise

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when will it publish guidance for businesses involved in the manufacture and rental of sporrans following the ban on the use of seal skins.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government are aware that the European Commission implementing regulations on the trade of seal products have still to be agreed by European Union member states. UK legislation implementing the intended EU regulation, which is due to come into force in August 2010, is currently being developed by the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and this will be the subject of a public consultation in the very near future.

  We will ensure that Scottish interests will be consulted by Defra as it develops the UK legislation. Guidance for businesses will be made available when this process has been completed.

Enterprise

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are employed in businesses involved in the manufacture and rental of sporrans.

Jim Mather: There is no formal data available on sporran manufacturers and sporran hire outlets. There is a wide range of retail outlets for sporrans including kilt hire and sale shops, tourist shops and on-line trading. On the manufacturing side, there are some larger producers of sporrans, but this is very much an artisan industry with many sole traders.

Fair Trade

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31932 by John Swinney on 3 March 2010, what its fair trade spending in 2008-09 was as a percentage of its catering budget.

John Swinney: The cost of the Scottish Government catering service is largely funded through charges paid by Scottish Government staff. A small level of financial support is paid to assist with the cost of the labour involved in the provision of the catering service. This assistance is not used to support the purchase of food produce.

  As indicated in question S3W-31932 in the financial year 2008-09 the total catering sales were £2,074,726 of which £211,330 was in respect of the purchase of fair trade and ethically traded product, or 10.2% of the total sales. Estimated figures for spend so far in the current year suggests that spend on these products continues to increase.

Forth Crossing

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial provision there is for unsuccessful bidders for the Forth Replacement Crossing.

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) minimum and (b) maximum expected premium is that will be allocated to the unsuccessful bidders for the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Stewart Stevenson: Compensation of 50% of the costs of tendering up to a maximum payment of £5,000,000 will be available to an unsuccessful bidder who has submitted a valid tender and kept that open for acceptance for up to six months or until the contract has been awarded to another bidder.

Forth Crossing

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the budget for the Forth Replacement Crossing includes funds for unsuccessful bidders.

Stewart Stevenson: Yes.

Forth Crossing

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many bidders are being considered for the construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Stewart Stevenson: Two consortia have been invited to participate in the tender dialogue process.

Forth Crossing

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all unsuccessful bidders for the Forth Replacement Crossing will receive the unsuccessful bidders premium.

Stewart Stevenson: The one unsuccessful bidder will receive the unsuccessful bidder’s premium subject to their having submitted a valid tender and kept that open for acceptance for up to six months or until the contract has been awarded to another bidder.

Forth Crossing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether householders who are unable to sell their home over a period of one year as a result of, in the opinion of a recognised estate agent or surveyor, the proximity of the property to the proposed Forth Replacement Crossing and allied works will be considered for help by the Scottish Executive using its powers under Part 23 of the Forth Crossing Bill to purchase the property.

Stewart Stevenson: The bill provides discretionary powers under section 23 to the Scottish ministers who would need to assess each case on its own particular circumstances at the time they arise before any determination whether to use such powers could be made.

Glasgow Airport Rail Link

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is legally required to fund the Borders railway project to completion.

Stewart Stevenson: The terms of the Waverley Railway (Scotland) Act 2006 require that Scottish ministers, having commenced the Authorised Works, must complete the whole railway. It would not be possible to meet this obligation without funding.

Glasgow Airport Rail Link

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will undertake to retain all land acquired for the Glasgow Airport Rail Link for future progression of the project, which it described as desirable.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31078 by Stewart Stevenson on 4 February 2010, what land relating to the cancelled Glasgow Airport Rail Link is being considered for resale.

Stewart Stevenson: On 3 February 2010 the Scottish Parliament approved the Scottish Budget 2010-11, which included the cancellation of the branch line element of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) project. As such this means that the land, previously acquired under compulsory purchase powers, for the branch line element of GARL is now deemed to be surplus to requirements.

  In accordance with our statutory obligations under the Glasgow Airport Rail Link Act (2007), Section 44 – Application of Crichel Downs Rules, where land is deemed to be surplus to the authorised undertaker’s requirements for the provision of the authorised works then the Crichel Downs Rules must be applied. This statutory requirement was welcomed by the Glasgow Airport Rail Link Bill Committee during its consideration of the bill in 2006.

Glasgow Airport Rail Link

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31087 by Stewart Stevenson on 4 February 2010, whether it considers that an application for funding for projects under the Regulatory Asset Base can be made at any time and, if so, how this relates to the statement of the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change on 20 January 2010 ( Official Report c. 22913) that "The Office of Rail Regulation provided a determination that accounts for all the spending of the regulated asset base up to 2014".

Stewart Stevenson: Scottish Government can request that Network Rail consider the use of Regulatory Asset Base finance for rail projects. This form of funding can be requested across Control Periods.

  The Office of Rail Regulation has determined the funding required by Network Rail for the Control Period 4 from 2009 to 2014, which includes the use of RAB finance for activities contained in Network Rail’s Delivery Plan for this period.

Glasgow Airport Rail Link

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31079 by Stewart Stevenson on 4 February 2010, whether the projects mentioned were compared on a like-for-like basis over the same time period; whether there was a common (a) discount and (b) inflation rate, and what account was taken of the complementary investment at Glasgow Airport of a new public transport interchange.

Stewart Stevenson: All infrastructure projects assessed by Transport Scotland are conducted in line with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG). This ensures consistency across projects as the same methodology is used to identify measure and record all costs, benefits and wider impacts.

  STAG recommends all costs and benefits are expressed in real as opposed to nominal terms. As such inflation does not apply where prices are forecast to remain constant in real terms. Where prices are expected to increase in real terms, guidance is provided in STAG as to the growth rates to apply over time. STAG also provides relevant discount rates to use.

  Transport Scotland are aware of the public transport interchange proposals which form part of British Airport Authority’s Air Surface Access Strategy and we continue to liaise with them on an updated strategy. This strategy would have been expected to compliment the branch line section of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) but would not have altered the underlying airport passenger growth assumptions on which benefits forecasts were based.

  The STAG Technical database can be accessed from the following link with Section 9 providing advice on economic assessments www.transportscotland.gov.uk/stag/td.

Housing

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities are involved in the national housing trust initiative.

Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29892 on 7 January 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

  Further to the answer to question S3W-29892, the Scottish Futures Trust is engaged in further discussions with eighteen local authorities to confirm which of these authorities wish to proceed to the next stage of participation in the national housing trust initiative.

Housing

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the national housing trust initiative will be funded.

Alex Neil: The national housing trust model anticipates that funding would be split 65% public and 35% private sector. Public funding is expected to be secured through the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) utilising the prudential borrowing powers of participating local authorities to fund sites in their area. The 35% private investment will be risk capital private funding from developers and other site owners and would likely be split 5% loan note and 30% equity investment. A Scottish Government guarantee would be provided to each participating local authority in relation to the re-payment of the PWLB loan.

Housing

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the national housing trust initiative will have cost implications for local authority housing revenue accounts.

Alex Neil: The National Housing Trust model should not have any direct cost implications for local authority housing revenue accounts.

Housing

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the national housing trust initiative proposes offering tenants a short assured tenancy.

Alex Neil: The national housing trust (NHT) scheme aims to provide affordable good quality homes for rent by tenants on low to moderate incomes who would struggle to afford private renting or to buy a home, but are unlikely to be able to access social rented housing in the near future. Properties would be let on renewable short assured tenancy agreements because the scheme has been designed to last between five and ten years in order to attract private sector investment whilst securing high value for taxpayer’s money. Prospective tenants would be made aware that the NHT scheme was not offering a permanent home, but a viable alternative to waiting potentially years for a social rented home.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the comments of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in The Scotsman on 1 March 2010 that "there are problems in some parts of the country" regarding the operation of community service orders, where and what these problems are and what action it is taking to improve the position.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government and partner agencies are working together to ensure more projects undertaken by low level offenders on community service is meaningful and relevant to local communities. To support this we have allocated an additional £9.5 million over the current and next financial years, specifically to allow improvement in the delivery of community service in preparation for the introduction of Community Payback Orders.

  To allow progress to be measured in relation to the immediacy and speed with which offenders commence and complete their orders, we are currently conducting an audit of activity across Scotland. We will use the findings of the audit to inform our work with partner agencies to strengthen delivery of Community Payback Orders.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the comments of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in The Scotsman on 1 March 2010 that the operation of community service orders in some areas is "frankly outstanding", where these areas are and what action it will to take in order that this good practice can be replicated elsewhere.

Kenny MacAskill: Community Service teams across Scotland are increasingly introducing projects for low level offenders to carry out unpaid work to repay their dues that are more meaningful and relevant to local communities. A recent example of this is the excellent work undertaken by offenders on community service across Scotland clearing snow from schools, hospitals and care homes for the elderly etc.

  In addition to help ensure that the work done reflects local needs, the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill, currently going through stage 2, further strengthens the unpaid work element of the new Community Payback Order by introducing a formal requirement to consult communities on the type of work to be undertaken by offenders. Furthermore, the Scottish Government is working in collaboration with partner agencies in order to identify and share best practice across Scotland through initiatives such as the Scottish Community Service Awards which will be held on 24 May 2010 in Glasgow.

Piers and Harbours

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive in what circumstances orders made under the Harbours Act 1964 (a) are and (b) are not considered to be plans or projects in terms of Part IV of the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994, as amended.

Stewart Stevenson: Applications for an order to be made under the Harbours Act 1964 are considered on an individual basis to determine, amongst other things, whether or not the proposal for the order includes a plan or project for the purposes of Part IV of the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994. If it does then consideration will be given as to whether any European site, as defined at regulation 10 of the Habitats Regulations, is likely to be significantly affected by what the plan or project seeks to achieve. Scottish Natural Heritage would normally be consulted to inform this consideration.

Rail Network

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to take forward the report, Station Car Parking Policy in Scotland Consultation: Analysis of Responses .

Stewart Stevenson: The  Station Car Parking Report was published on 18 February 2010 and sets out in detail the areas where further analysis is required. Transport Scotland has commissioned additional research, which is expected to be completed later this year and will assist in planning opportunities for future Network Rail and franchise specifications.

Rail Network

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has facilitated between interested bodies regarding night-time coal trains in the Larbert area since 11 June 2009 and what the outcome was.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland and Clackmannanshire Council have had ongoing discussions since 11 June with respect to noise and vibration mitigation. Transport Scotland along with Network Rail facilitated a meeting on 7 October 2009 with the Chief Executive of Clackmannanshire Council, Stirling Council, Fife Council and D B Schenker. Network Rail and D B Schenker undertook to provide further information to Clackmannanshire Council.

Rail Network

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to facilitate discussions between interested bodies regarding night-time coal trains in the Larbert area.

Stewart Stevenson: The subject of night time coal trains is currently under discussion at the Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government will provide whatever assistance is required to facilitate these discussions.

Rail Network

Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what body has responsibility for the regulation of railways in Scotland.

Stewart Stevenson: The Office of Rail Regulation is the independent safety and economic regulator for the rail network across Great Britain.

Rail Services

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-12700 by Stewart Stevenson on 16 May 2008, whether it will provide details of the subsidy payments made to rail franchise operators in 2008-09 and profits made by them in 2007-08.

Stewart Stevenson: The net subsidy payment made to First ScotRail under the Franchise Agreement for 2008-09 is £310 million.

  First ScotRail provide certain profitability information to Transport Scotland under the confidentiality terms of the Franchise Agreement, a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 45544). However, due to commercial confidentiality we are not at liberty to disclose these. Profit information is disclosed within the published Annual Report and Accounts for First ScotRail Ltd and the following operating profit figures are disclosed:

  2007-08: £17.4 million.

Rail Services

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what commitments or projections exist for subsidy payments to rail passenger franchise operators in 2010-11 and future years.

Stewart Stevenson: The forecast commitment for subsidy payments to rail passenger franchise operators in 2010-11 is £315.2 million. No further projections are currently available.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16666 by Jim Mather on 22 October 2008, what changes have been introduced since 1 January 2009 to the accreditation standards for installers of microgeneration equipment and what the reasons are for such changes.

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16666 by Jim Mather on 22 October 2008, what assessment it has made of the impact of any changes introduced since 1 January 2009 to the accreditation standards for installers of microgeneration equipment on the (a) cost of accreditation, (b) numbers of installers achieving accreditation and (c) number of rejections.

Jim Mather: No changes have yet been made to the accreditation standards for installers of microgeneration equipment in Scotland. The Scottish Government recently received proposals for changes to the accreditation requirements from the industry led working group. We are currently considering these. We are committed to reach a solution that will satisfy microgeneration installers but not exclude Scottish consumers from forthcoming UK-wide clean energy cash back schemes.

Water Services

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Water Industry Commission for Scotland has spent on travelling expenses since 2007 and how much was incurred by the (a) Chief Executive and (b) Chairman.

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Water Industry Commission for Scotland has spent on hospitality expenses since 2007.

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Water Industry Commission for Scotland has spent on decorating expenses for office accommodation since 2007.

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of the decorating contracts for the Water Industry Commission for Scotland’s office were put out to tender and, if so, when and how many companies bid for the work.

Roseanna Cunningham: The Water Industry Commission for Scotland is the independent economic regulator for the water industry in Scotland. Its detailed operating costs including travel, hospitality and decorating expenses are matters for the commission to determine. I have asked Alan Sutherland, Chief Executive of the commission, to respond to you directly.

Young Offenders

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under 16 have been held in prison establishments and young offenders’ institutions under section 44 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 in each year since 1999.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  There have been no children under 16 held in prison establishments or young offenders’ institutions under section 44 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.

  The following table shows the total number of children under 16 held in prison establishments or young offenders institutions since 1999 under other legislation.

  

Year
No. of Under 16s


1999
11


2000
14


2001
16


2002
25


2003
21


2004
22


2005
18


2006
27


2007
15


2008
16


2009
5


2010
1

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliamentary Staff

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many Parliament staff have used the Bray Leino Broadskill training services since the contract began.

Mike Pringle: Since the start of the Bray Leino Broadskill contract in June 2009, a total of 439 Parliament staff have attended training available on the SPCB Corporate Training Programme which is delivered using the Bray Leino Broadskill contract. Bray Leino Broadskill have also provided professional advice services to 37 Parliament staff relating to specific projects and 14 Parliament staff who are Subject Matter Experts have used the contract for administrative support.

Parliamentary Staff

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S3W-31930 by Mike Pringle on 10 March 2010, whether it will provide a breakdown by party affiliation of MSP staff members who attended training.

Mike Pringle: The breakdown by party affiliation of MSPs staff who have attended training using the Bray Leino Broadskill training services contract is:

  Number of Staff Attending Training

  

Party
 


Scottish National Party
26


Scottish Green Party
12


Labour
5


Scottish Liberal Democrats
4


Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
2


Total
49

Parliamentary Staff

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many permanent vacancies have been advertised internally only since May 2003.

Mike Pringle: Permanent internally advertised vacancies are broken down by year below.

  

Year
Vacancies (Full-Time Equivalent)


2003 (from 1 May)
17


2004
12


2005
4


2006
5


2007
9


2008
7


2009
6


2010 (to 12 March)
5.5


Total 
65.5

Parliamentary Staff

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many vacancies have been advertised externally since May 2003.

Mike Pringle: Externally advertised vacancies, broken down by year, are shown in the table below.

  

Year
Permanent
Fixed Term
All Advertised


2003 (from 1 May)
24.6
2
26.2


2004
31.5
12
43.5


2005
41
2
43


2006
42.2
2.5
44.7


2007
33.8
5
38.8


2008
36.8
5
41.8


2009
24.3
6.6
30.9


2010 (to 12 March)
0
3
3


Total
234.2
38.1
272.3



  Note: Vacancies are shown as full-time equivalent.